The Religious History of the Roman Empire

Pagans, Jews, and Christians

Edited by J. A. North and S. R. F. Price

Description

This collection of papers, many of them either published here in English for the first time or previously available only in specialist libraries, deals with the religious history of the Roman Empire. Written by leading scholars, the essays have contributed to a revolutionary change in our understanding of the religious situation of the time, and illuminate both the world religions of Christianity and Judaism and the religious life of the pagan Empire in which these developed and which deeply influenced their characters. No knowledge of ancient languages is presupposed, so the book is accessible to all who are interested in the history of this crucial period.

The Religious History of the Roman Empire

Pagans, Jews, and Christians

Edited by J. A. North and S. R. F. Price

Table of Contents

Introduction, John North & Simon PriceI. Changes in Religious Life: Roman and Civic Cults 1. Roman Religion and the Religion of Empire: Some Reflections on Method, Jorg Rupke2. The Roman Imperial Cult and the Question of Power, Richard Gordon3. Magic in Roman Law: The Reconstruction of a Crime, J. B. Rives4. New Combinations and New Statuses: The Indigenous Gods in the Pantheons of the Cities of Roman Gaul, William Van Andringa5. Hypsistos: A Way of Exalting the Gods in Graeco-Roman Polytheism, Nicole Belayche6. On the Uses and Disadvantages of Divination: Oracles and their Literary Representations in the Time of the Second Sophistic, Andreas BendlinII. Elective Cults 7. Homogeneity and Diversity in the Religions of Rome, Simon Price8. Oriental Mysteries and Cults: A Problem in the History of Religions, Giulia Sfameni Gasparro9. Ritual and Hierarchy in the Mysteries of Mithras, Richard Gordon10. Community and Community: Reflections on Some Ambiguities Based on the Thiasoi of Roman Egypt, John ScheidIII. Coexistence of Religions, Old and New 11. Acculturation and Identity in the Diaspora: A Jewish Family and 'Pagan' Guilds at Hierapolis, Philip Harland12. Josephus and Variety in First-Century Judaism, Martin Goodman13. The Forging of Christian Identity and the Letter To Diognetus, Judith Lieu14. Purification and its Discontents: Mani's Rejection of Baptism, Guy G. Stroumsa15. Pagans, Polytheists and the Pendulum, J. A. NorthIV. Late Antiquity 16. Early Christianity and the Discourse of Female Desire, Averil Cameron17. Enjoying the Saints in Late Antiquity, Peter Brown

The Religious History of the Roman Empire

Pagans, Jews, and Christians

Edited by J. A. North and S. R. F. Price

Reviews and Awards

"The Religious History of the Roman Empire is a useful and challenging compilation of some very hard-to-come-by papers and will provide students of ancient paganism, Judaism, and Christianity with much fodder for further and more in-depth investigation of Roman religious life."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"Overall, the book is handsomely produced...The Religious History of the Roman Empire is a useful and challenging compilation of some very hard-to-come-by papers and will provide students of ancient paganism, Judaism, and Christianity with much fodder for further and more in-depth investigation of Roman religious life."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"Fascinating...Research libraries and the students who use them will benefit greatly from having access to the collection of these significant articles."--Religious Studies Review